In New York, burlesque performer Gin Minsky has a reputation for feats that feel impossible. For her newest stunt, she swapped the stage lights for clinical ones. She let Columbia University doctors film her swallowing an 18-inch sword, producing a viral video that shows us the steel’s path past her larynx and into her esophagus.
The clip, posted to Instagram, has already pulled in more than half a million views. Comments range from admiration to disbelief. One viewer wrote, “Omg how did she just stay alive and so calm? I almost dropped to the floor.” Another admitted, “My brain couldn’t fathom enough composure to witness that.”
Minsky, who lives in Bed-Stuy, wanted the video to prove the act’s authenticity. “I was just performing this weekend, and I could see a woman in the audience that was going to her husband [about the sword], ‘It collapses!’” she told The Post.
NYC Sword Swallower Goes Viral for Filming the Inside of Her Throat Mid-Act
The collaboration is part of Columbia’s Center for Voice and Swallowing’s new series looking at performers’ throats in action. “This allows us to see and record the entire throat and larynx, areas we cannot see when looking through the mouth,” explained Dr. Michael Pitman, who carried out the laryngoscopy.
Speech-language pathologist Holly Reckers, who filmed the procedure, said she was stunned. “When you think about sword swallowing, it makes sense what’s happening, but to actually see it happen is mind-blowing.”
Minsky’s career with swords began in 2017 when she trained under Todd Robbins, a Coney Island veteran of the sideshow world. “He made me do it seven times a day, every day,” she said. Learning meant pushing through three separate gag reflexes, and it took her a full year to succeed.
She now merges sword swallowing with burlesque and tap, appearing at venues like Duane Park in NoHo and Bathtub Gin in Chelsea. Though she’s never been seriously injured, certain meals before a performance have made things rough. “Anything spicy, you can feel that burn just in your esophagus. It’s not nice,” she admitted.
Minsky sees it as a rebuttal to skeptics who think her blades are gimmicks. For viewers, it’s an anatomy lesson that manages to be both nauseating and mesmerizing.
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